The Best Present, by Holly Keller (Greenwillow, $11.95...

June 18, 1989|By Mary Harris Veeder.

The Best Present, by Holly Keller (Greenwillow, $11.95, ages 5-8). While young children have become included in some hospital births and in visits to the newly born, they must deal with exclusion when it comes to hospital visits to adults. In this book, 8-year-old Rosie cannot visit her Grandma, because visitors must be at least 10-years-old. Her friend Kate suggests unbraiding her hair and carrying a purse. Rosie`s attempt to crash visiting hours isn`t successful but the book reassures children that adults recognize all the love that comes in messages which can`t be delivered in person. The seriousness with which Rosie`s feelings are taken and the gentleness of Keller`s combination of watercolors and thin black lines are important.

Eat up, Gemma, by Sara Hayes, illustrated by Jan Ormerod (Lothrop Lee & Shepard, $13, ages 3-6). Most families know this territory: ``One morning we woke up late. I couldn`t find my shoes and Gemma wouldn`t eat her breakfast.`` Throughout the day, his little sister refuses to do with food what everyone else does. She squishes the grapes, she feeds the dog, she hammers her treats. Only her observant older brother can figure out a way to get Gemma to eat. While the plot is slight, Jan Ormerod`s calm, comforting figures present the shapes of warm family life without any unnecessary detail, and the final effect is one of pleasant substantiality.

Tillie and the Wall, by Leo Lionni (Knopf, $11.95, ages 4-6). Lionni is a master of the simple fable, and his illustrations leave as much graceful room for white space as his text leaves room for thinking. Tillie is the only mouse who questions the wall. The others go about their business, gathering food, while Tillie wants to know what`s on the other side. One of the best pictures is Tillie`s colorful fantasy of life ``on the other side,`` and young readers will enjoy comparing that with what she actually finds when she bravely tunnels through the darkness of the earth.

The Plum Tree War, by Bonnie Pryor, illustrated by Dora Leader (Morrow, $11.95, ages 8-10). If you were a 9-year-old boy named Robert, who plans every bit of his day in a precise way, the worst thing in the world would be a year- long visit from a cousin who is, perish the thought, a girl. Readers from 8 to 10 will understand the horror felt on both sides of the exchange and enjoy the disasters on the way to a happier ending. Pryor has a feel for incidents that count in 4th grade, like Halloween costumes and spelling tests.

Who`s a Clever Baby?, by David McKee (Lothrop, $12.95, ages 4-7). Mama goes out and Grandma comes to babysit. ``Who`s a clever baby?`` she queries, relentlessly. Baby`s answer is ``Dog,`` always ``Dog,`` whether he`s looking at a ``pretty pink paddling penguin,`` or ``strong Samson silently struggling with Simon, the serious stone lion.`` These descriptions are Grandma`s, who takes Baby on a long educational stroll. Young readers who have ever been less than happy at being chucked under the chin will enjoy Baby`s quiet rebellion and McKee`s comic look at all the things Baby could talk about.